


Every Little Thing He Does Is Magick

by CharlieDemandsCoffee



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: M/M, Roomates AU, Wicca, Wiccan!Josh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-20 14:12:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11337141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharlieDemandsCoffee/pseuds/CharlieDemandsCoffee
Summary: Tyler hasn't had much luck with roommates, and he's getting desperate.This new roommate tends to boil smelly herbs in their kitchen and chant, but there's something about Josh he can't quite put his finger on.





	1. Coffee Candy

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Obviously, no disrespect to the actual people mentioned here, and I don't own them. 
> 
> My first Twenty One Pilots fic, so bear with me here. They're just really good muses, so I couldn't resist. 
> 
> I am a hereditary witch myself, practicing for pretty much my whole life, and most of this comes from either basic teachings or family traditions, so it's not a comprehensive look at the whole of the Craft. This is not magic realism, and it's based solely on Wicca/Witchcraft.
> 
> No disrespect to any other religions I talk about either.

Tyler walks up to the counter, shoes squeaking on the linoleum floor, and squints at the menu above the shelves as he takes his headphones out. 

The girl behind the counter has a smudge of whipped cream on her apron, and a smudge of eyeliner under her right eye. She looks like she's been here since before the sun came up. She's new, he realizes, or she only works when he's not here. 

He scans the menu, but he knows it's all for show. He always orders the same thing anyway. He likes his routine, and he likes this place. They don't play irritating music, and they always have scented candles burning on the counter.

Today it's a brown one named "Cocoa-Caramel Paradise." It sort of reminds him of the smell of a lipgloss that Madison had in Middle School. 

"What can I get you?" She drawls out, and Tyler casts a polite smile in her direction. 

"Caramel latte please," he replies, already reaching for his wallet.

She rings him up, writes his name on the cup while he pays, telling him it will be just a few minutes. He nods and walks to his favorite chair to wait. He's about to put in his headphones again when his phone starts ringing. 

"Hello?"

"Hey," Mark's voice is distorted by the wind, and Tyler guesses he's on his way to the office. 

"What's up?" Tyler says, watching the girl add caramel syrup to his cup, her limp hair falling in her face as she works.

"So that roommate situation," Mark begins, "I think I may have found someone. I mean if you're still, like, looking?" 

"No, yeah, I am," Tyler says, and he feels a tingle of stress creep up his back, "It's getting pretty desperate."

He's been struggling to make ends meet for a while now. His job at the church was good, and they at least paid him pretty well, but rent was going up again this year, and he needed a helping hand. He's had terrible luck though, and at this rate, he's going to go through everyone in the city before he finds a roommate he can at least tolerate. 

"What's this, like, sixth time's a charm?" Mark teases. 

"Can't you just be my roommate," Tyler whines, smiling at the huff of laughter from the other end. 

"Dude, you can not afford my share of rent," Mark says, "And I'm not moving into your place. No offense." 

Tyler knows his place is a fixer-upper, and now that Mark scored his nice studio job, he wasn't about to give up a downtown walk-up for Tyler's measly two-bedroom with plumbing problems. 

"You're off today, right?" Mark asks abruptly. 

"Yeah, why?" 

"'Cause he wants to meet you." 

Tyler sees the barista snap a lid on his cup, and he rises to grab it. He thanks her as he walks out, wrapping his hand tightly around the cardboard sleeve as the chilly air circles around him. 

"I'll bite. Where?" Tyler asks, sipping too quickly and burning his tongue. 

"He works at that Guitar Center on Morse Centre Road," Mark replies. Tyler can hear him talking lowly with the receptionist at his office, hears the ping of his badge as he clocks in. For some reason, Tyler is struck with impulsiveness. 

"When?" 

"Wow. You're, like, branching out," Mark teases, and Tyler rolls his eyes, "I'm impressed." 

"At this point, what've I got to lose?" Tyler mumbles as he walks. The sidewalk is damp, and he can see his reflection in the puddles. He looks tired. 

"True. Alright, he said he takes his lunch at two," Mark says, "I gotta go, but go meet him. He seemed cool." 

Tyler tries to trust Mark on that one, even if every instinct tells him not to. This guy could be anyone, but he's willing to try his luck. Guitar-Center guy has got to be better than the weird "turned out to be a car thief" hipster guy he tried last month, at least. 

"Oh, his name is Josh, by the way," Mark adds, almost like an unimportant afterthought.

Tyler agrees, hiding his reluctance, and says his goodbyes. The clouds overhead are starting to thin out, sun peeking through, weak and watery. He pulls his coat closer around him and picks up his pace. It was nearing one o'clock, and of course this guy had to be halfway across the city. 

Josh, huh?

Tyler shoots a quick prayer toward those spindly clouds that Josh isn't a car thief, at least. 


	2. Fluorescent Bright

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my sister, who has loved Twenty One Pilots before me, and helped a lot with this fic! 
> 
> Her Tumblr is ultraviolentmee@tumblr.com

Tyler's eyes buzz with the lights overhead as he steps into the Guitar Center. It's just after their rush, and it's still and quiet. He can hear the electricity crackling along the fluorescents. 

One of the salesmen spots Tyler lingering awkwardly in the doorway, and he makes his way to him in long strides. 

"Hi," the guy greets, a placid smile lighting his face, "Can I help you find something?"

"Uh, yeah, someone actually," Tyler says, "I'm looking for Josh?" 

The guy nods, gesturing to the back left corner, "He's back there in drums. He's about to go on lunch though." 

Tyler smiles and is about to walk away before he turns.

"Um, I'm kind of, like, meeting him for the first time. What's he look like?" 

The guy looks confused, but Tyler catches a smirk before he replies.

"He's got pink hair. Can't miss him." 

Tyler thanks him, turning to make his way to the drum section, biting the inside of his cheek against a smile. Pink hair? Tyler kind of likes him already. 

He turns the corner past a huge set of bongos and spots another worker leaning over, organizing a display. He catches a glimpse of fading pastel-pink hair. It's so quiet Tyler can hear his own breathing. 

"Excuse me?" Tyler calls, "Are you Josh?" 

The guy jumps, turns so quickly at the sudden noise that he smacks his head on the shelf above him. 

"Oh crap, I'm sorry!" Tyler says, holding his hands up apologetically as the guy straightens up, rubbing the back of his head with a grimace. Tyler catches a metal nametag pinned to his black button-down, but he can't quite read it from this distance.

"No, that's okay, I'm fine. You kinda scared me," the guy chuckles, smiling as Tyler walks closer, "Yeah, I'm Josh. Can I help you with something?"

"Actually, I think you can. You wanted to meet me? I'm Tyler."

Now that he's closer, Tyler can see that Josh has a nose piercing to add to the pink hair. The lights reflect off the clear plastic retainer. He's got gauges in his ears, and Tyler catches part of a colorful tattoo around his wrist where his arm is raised, and Tyler's curious about the rest of the design. Josh looks all around just pretty _cool._  

Josh nods, understanding lighting his eyes, "Oh right! Mark said you're looking for a roommate, huh?" 

"Well, that's a colossal understatement." 

Josh laughs at that, and it lights his whole face up. The way his eyes crinkle makes Tyler laugh with him. 

"I know that life," Josh replies, taking his phone out of the pocket of his skinny jeans to check the time. 

"I'm about to go to lunch," Josh says, "You wanna come with me?"

"Oh, um, sure. I guess we should talk," Tyler says. 

"It's a date then," Josh says easily, his eyes twinkling, "I'll be right back, I have to clock out." 

He walks toward a back hallway, and Tyler waits, fidgeting with the zipper on his coat. He's suddenly uncomfortably hot. 

Josh swings back through the door and Tyler follows him out the front of the store to the parking lot. It's still chilly out, but the sun is giving a valiant effort, warming the tops of Tyler's shoes. 

"We can take my car," Josh tells him, leading him to a little white car that reminds Tyler of electric razors. 

"Excuse the clutter," Josh apologizes as they get in. It's cleaner than Tyler's car, just a few Redbull cans in the backseat, and he makes a mental note to clean his own car later. 

"You like Taco Bell?"

"Dude, I love Taco Bell." 

"See? Best friends already," Josh quips, starting the car and throwing his arm over the back of Tyler's seat to see while he pulls out.

Tyler can smell his cologne, or maybe deodorant as he moves his arm back. Tyler can see the black cord of a necklace he's wearing under his shirt along his collarbone. Tyler swallows, looking away, and his eyes fix on the small charm hanging from Josh's rear view mirror.

It looks like another necklace with a silver disk on the end. Inlaid is a small, five-pointed star design. Tyler reaches up to touch it in spite of himself, running his thumb along the engraving on the disk: _J.W.D._  

"Pretty huh?" Josh says, and Tyler quickly draws his hand back.

"Sorry."

Josh shakes his head, beaming across the seat, "It's okay. _Mi casa_ and all that." 

"Those your initials?" Tyler asks. 

Josh hums in agreement, "Joshua William Dun." 

He holds his hand out playfully, snickering when Tyler plays along and shakes it. 

"Tyler Robert Joseph," Tyler says, his voice mock-formal, making Josh laugh. 

"Cool pendant though," Tyler adds, "Good luck charm?" 

"Kinda. It's for protection," Josh says, and leaves it at that. They pull into the parking lot and Josh checks the time again as they get out of the car.

Inside is full of the post-lunch rush crowd, and Tyler sees Josh stiffen as he sees how many people are milling around. 

"I'm not really a fan of crowds either," Tyler says, noticing Josh's shoulder relax as he looks at him. He smiles in relief as they order, pushing Tyler's offers to pay for his share away, saying it's his treat. 

They grab a tiny table at the back near the windows, silent for a moment as they eat. Josh stops to roll up his sleeves, and Tyler watches as his tattoo comes into view, inch by inch. 

"Cool tat," Tyler comments around a mouthful of taco. 

"Thanks."

"Full sleeve?"

Josh nods, "The top is different though." 

Tylers struck with a crazy urge to ask Josh to take his shirt off so he can see the full thing. He stuffs his mouth with nachos instead. 

"So," Josh says, swirling a chip around in cheese, "You wanna get the awkward part out of the way?"

"Awkward part?"

"You know," Josh shrugs, "Bad habits, sleeping schedules, opinions on me having three cats?"

Tyler's eyes widen, "You have three?"

"Well two. One's my sister's. I'm babysitting," Josh says, then catches the look on Tyler's face, "Oh no, please tell me you're not allergic," Josh says, his face falling. 

Tyler waves a hand, "No, no, I actually love cats. Just worried since my apartment has a limit of two pets." 

Josh laughs, "Oh thank God, I was afraid you were, like, a major dog-person or hated cats, or something. A lot of people do." 

"I'm actually afraid of dogs," Tyler tells him, his ears heating up at Josh's warm answering smile. He clears his throat. 

"Okay, so we'll do this rapid-fire," Tyler says, "I'm a night-owl, I drink from the carton, I sing in the shower, and I play several instruments that are not quiet. Go." 

Josh grins, "I'm an insomniac, I burn candles and incense all the time, I marathon video games, and I play the drums, which are also not quiet." 

Tyler stares into Josh's eyes for a minute before he cracks a grin. 

"Okay," he says, nodding, "Okay, I can live with all that." 

"Me too," Josh agrees, pulling out his phone, "Well, my lunch is about up, but I should probably give you my number so we can, you know, figure everything out."

They exchange numbers, agreeing to meet again soon to negotiate things further, before cleaning up and heading out to Josh's car.

On the drive back, Tyler finds himself singing along to the CD Josh has playing, loudly and unashamed. Josh glances at him once in a while, always turning back to the road when Tyler looks back, but he's chewing his cheek and thumping his thumb on the steering wheel to the beat. 

"So, I have to confess," Josh says as they get to the parking lot back at Guitar Center, "Mark told me about your bad luck with roommates." 

Tyler looks at Josh warily, seeing no hesistance there. He worries his bottom lip before he replies. 

"I promise, and I know how this sounds, but it wasn't anything I did." 

"I didn't think it was," Josh says, looking genuinely surprised, "I mean, you seem cool. And it's not your fault that guy was into real life Grand-Theft Auto."

Tyler rakes a hand over his eyes, "Mark is such a blabber-mouth." 

"Oh, um," Josh shifts, looking embarrassed, "Well anyway, I'm just telling you I know because I don't want you to think I'm like them, you know? I know it's fast, but you're like, easily the most compatible person I could room with." 

Tyler's chest fills with warmth. He scratches the back of his neck. 

"You're really easy to talk to," Tyler finds himself saying, "And I don't really trust people easily, but I'm not worried about you, dude. Like at all." 

Josh shuffles his feet, smiling at Tyler, "Well, good."

Josh's phone alarm goes off, and he silences it before locking his car. Tyler double checks his own phone to make sure he has Josh's contact info there. 

"Duty calls," Josh jokes, starting to walk back to the building. 

"Yeah, for sure. Well um, let me know," Tyler says, fumbling with his own keys. 

"Absolutely. I'll call you, okay?" 

Tyler nods, walking toward his car to unlock it. 

"Tyler!" 

He turns to see Josh waving from the door, his hair fluffy in the wind that's picking up. 

"Thanks!" Josh calls, and Tyler can see his smile even from here.

They wave goodbye and Tyler gets in, pulling out of the parking lot and onto the street. He puts his phone in the cup holder, lets his GPS take him home, watching the lines blur under him on the street. He stops for a red light, hears his phone vibrate against the plastic.

**_From: Josh Dun_ **

_You want to hang tomorrow morning? Starbucks by GC?_

Tyler smirks, taps out a response, watches the ellipses as Josh types back immediately. 

**_From: Tyler_ **

_Sure, what time?_

**_From: Josh Dun_ **

_8? I go in @ 10_

_**From: Tyler**_  

_It's a date_

Tyler finds himself biting his lip but he's not too sure why. His phone buzzes and he waits for another red light to check it. 

**_From: Josh Dun_ **

_Well crap guess I should dress up then haha_

Tyler laughs at that, puts his phone back in the cup holder. He cruises through a yellow light while struggling out of his jacket, turns on the air, feeling it cool the sweat he didn't realize was beading up on his chest. 


	3. Neon Whipped Cream

"I don't even like Starbucks," Tyler jokes into the receiver.

His phone is balanced between his ear and shoulder as he sits on the floor, pulls on his shoes. 

"So I take it the meeting went well?" Mark asks, and Tyler smiles to himself. 

"Really well. I mean, he plays music, he's super nice, he's weirdly similar in, like, his habits."

"Aww," Mark croons, "Have you found The One, Mr. Joseph?"

Tyler rolls his eyes, "Shut up. He buttered me up with Taco Bell, okay? My defenses were down." 

"Wow, that's practically second-base for you," Mark agrees, then sighs, "Honestly I totally took, like, a random chance, so I'm glad it paid off. When's he moving in?" 

"He told me Wednesday," Tyler says.

He grabs his keys and shuts off the hallway light on his way to the door. 

"Awesome."

"Yep. Gotta go though. Thanks Mark," Tyler adds, jimmying his key in the lock. 

"See ya, dude." 

Tyler hangs up and makes his way down the stairs, walking around the corner to his car and unlocking the door. 

It's a short ride to the coffee shop, traffic really sparse from the hour. It's a little foggy out, Tyler can tell it's going to be cold again. Autumn is in full swing around the city, and he's glad his new hoodie is lined with fleece.

Tyler spots Josh's car in the front next to the mermaid sign, and he pulls up next to it with a grin. He's not even sure why he's excited to see Josh, but he thinks there may be a potential for a real friendship there.

He walks in, sighing at the blast of warmth from inside the doorway, and Josh spots him immediately, waving from a high table by the windows. 

"Good morning," Josh greets, beaming at him, "Know what you want? I haven't ordered yet. I was waiting for you."

He's not wearing his uniform, and he's got the sleeves of his black sweater rolled up to his elbows. Tyler follows him to the counter, and he can see he's got a silver hoop in his nose. 

"Planning to shock and awe?" Tyler asks, gestering to it. 

"Oh, um, no," Josh replies, "Got the day off actually. They told me they're training a new guy so they're overstaffed. I would've called you and cancelled or whatever, but it was, like, six in the morning." 

"Oh, it's okay, dude," Tyler replies, "I rarely see mornings, it's kind of refreshing."

Josh cackles, and truthfully, Tyler doesn't even mind being up this early, even if it is his day off too. They order quickly, an Americano for Josh, who smirks when Tyler orders a hazelnut latte with whipped cream. 

"What? I'm celebrating," Tyler says. 

"Celebrating what?" Josh asks as they sit down again. 

"Well, it's my day off too," Tyler says, sipping at his coffee, "And I have a new roommate."

Josh smiles, taking the lid off his cup to blow on his drink. 

"Where do you work?" 

"Five14 Church. I'm basically a paper-pusher but it pays okay. They even let me sing," Tyler says, noticing Josh's eyebrow quirk. 

"I've seen that chapel. I like the pillars," Josh comments, fiddling with his sleeve at his elbow. He looks a little stiff. 

"Didn't peg me as a man of God?" Tyler jokes, chuckling at Josh's eyes widening. 

"Oh, no! That's not...I'm just not really uh, religious myself, in that way." Josh fumbles, and Tyler grins. 

"Hey don't worry, I'm not gonna fire-and-brimstone you," Tyler says, "I'm not here to push religion on anyone." 

Josh nods, studying the table with a furrowed brow until Tyler comments. 

"I take it you haven't had the uh, best experience with religious people?" 

"It's not that exactly," Josh admits, then he leans forward and puts his drink down. His eyes look guarded. 

"Okay, cards on the table? I'm a Wiccan, actually. From a Christian background. You can imagine how that went down."

Wiccan. Huh. Tyler's heard the term before, but he's not quite sure what it means. He's assuming his images of fortune tellers is wrong. Josh stares at him warily. 

"Huh," Tyler begins, "Okay, so...Wiccan? I mean, I've heard that word before but I'm not really sure what that means." 

"It's sort of an Earth-based, pagan type religion," Josh explains, taking another sip, "We celebrate things like the solstices and we sort of, like, pray for things through rituals."

Tyler can tell that Josh has probably had to explain this a million times, and that he's skimming the details. Tyler remembers a short part of his theology class on pagan religions, so he tries a term he thinks is right.

"So, you're, like, a witch?" 

Josh chokes on his coffee a little, making Tyler crack up.

"Uh yeah, that's the term for it," Josh says. 

"Yeah, I took a course on religion in college. I mean, it wasn't extensive, but I know it's not like Hollywood, coming-to-get-your-Ruby-slippers stuff," Tyler tells him. 

"Oh no," Josh nods seriously, "Ruby isn't my color. It's not exactly an episode of  _Charmed_ in my house." 

"Ah darn, you were my last hope for Hogwarts," Tyler quips. 

He licks whipped cream off his lid, watches Josh throw his head back and laugh. It feels good to make Josh laugh. He wants to keep doing it. 

"See? No big deal. Why were you so scared to tell me?" Tyler asks. 

"I'm sorry," Josh says, shaking his head, "It's just, like, my family doesn't approve. In a big way. And it's hard to even talk to them anymore. I mean, they still love me, they just don't know how to relate to me if they're not praying for me."

Tyler raises his eyebrows, taking a drink. He can't even imagine life without his family supporting him. That must have sucked for Josh.

Josh's face scrunches in embarrassment at Tyler's expression. 

"Sorry, that was mean of me. I just mean..."

Tyler cuts him off, giving in to his weird urge to physically assure him by reaching over and patting his hand. 

"It's all good. You don't have to explain."

Josh catches his fingers in a squeeze, and Tyler suddenly remembers how it felt to go on his first rollarcoaster. His stomach does its best impression for some reason, and he slowly pulls his hand back, smiling at Josh before he finishes his drink. 

"So," Tyler clears his throat, "Since we both have the day off, I was thinking we could, like, do something. You know, bonding or whatever." 

"You don't have plans with your friends or anything?" Josh asks, draining his cup. 

"Nah. I mean, I don't really have a lot of them to begin with. And we all work so it's hard. Usually we see each other at Church," Tyler says, realizing it sounds sad when he says it out loud. 

Josh looks joyous though, and he gets up to throw away his empty cup. 

"We can hang, that'd be sick," Josh decides, lingering at the door while Tyler cleans up, holding it open for him and beaming. 

"Have a plan, Captain?" Tyler asks, falling in step with Josh on the way to the far-end of the parking lot. It's getting darker, clouds rolling in thick and heavy.  

"You like mini-golf?" Josh replies with a grin. 

"At eight in the morning?" 

"Well, in general, but yeah, why not? I know a place that opens at nine."

Tyler holds back a grin, "Mini-golf inspires rage and unhealthy competition in me. Let's do it." 

Josh cracks up, unlocking the doors with the remote on his keys.

They get directions to a glow-golf slash arcade place downtown, and it's not until two blocks away from the place, with Death Cab for Cutie blasting on Josh's stereo while they sing along, that Tyler has the passing thought that he left his car back at Starbucks. 

He finds he doesn't care much.

The place is pretty much deserted when they get there, just a few tired-looking workers milling around cleaning. The arcade games aren't even on yet. 

"Well, hi there," the surprised kid at the counter says, "Just the two of you?" 

"Yep," Tyler agrees, stepping up to the counter. 

"You've got the whole course to yourselves," the kid says, tearing their tickets apart and grabbing the clubs for them, "You can pay on your way out. I'll turn the glow lights on for you."

They thank him, making their way through the arcade-front before they enter through a black set of curtains to the golf area. 

There's neon glowing jungle animals on all the walls, and it's way bigger than Tyler thought it would be. There's electronica pounding through the speakers on the walls. They're completely alone. 

"Whoa," Tyler laughs, staring at Josh as he takes off his coat, "Your hair looks freaky dude!" 

"Yeah well, your teeth are glowing!" Josh shoots back, his own glowing too as he laughs. 

Tyler playfully smacks his leg with the club, following him to the start of the course.

He loses track of time as they make their way through the room. Josh is infuriatingly good, while Tyler mostly smacks as hard as he can and hopes for the best. There's errant balls flying everywhere, and Josh keeps cackling at Tyler's mini temper-tantrums. 

They're at the last hole, and Tyler knows he's going to lose by a lot, but he's going down fighting regardless. 

"Hey! It's a lot harder when it's not, like, something I'm throwing, okay? I am actually athletic," Tyler yells over the music.

Josh laughs at his fourth failed attempt to launch the ball through a plastic tiger's mouth. 

"Baseball?" Josh guesses, lining up his shot. 

"No, basketball." 

Josh hits his little neon purple ball through the hole easily, and Tyler scoffs at Josh's quirked eyebrow as they move down. 

"You...fudger. I swear, you're enchanting the ball or something," Tyler hisses, and Josh snorts.

"It doesn't work like that. And you watch your mouth, young man," Josh replies.

His voice is low and gravely as he points at Tyler with the end of his club. Tyler feels prickly heat travel across his chest, but he ignores it as he leans over to take his next shot.

"Make me," Tyler says absently, licking his lips as he takes a few practice swings. 

Josh is standing close enough that Tyler can feel his body heat. He thinks he can hear Josh's breath catch just as he hits his ball.

It goes in so fast that Tyler just sees a neon blue glow before the clack of the plastic rings out. Josh shouts a cheer, slapping him on the back. 

"Your first hole-in-one," Josh says dramatically, wiping an invisible tear from his eye.

"I mean, you still lost, but I'm so proud." 

"Oh my gosh, shut up," Tyler says, his face hurting from smiling. 

"It was a hero's death, don't worry," Josh assures, grabbing his coat for him as they head back out.

They stand blinking at the sudden daylight coming through the arcade windows. Tyler is sticky with sweat, and his cheeks hurt, but he's not sure he's had that much fun in a long time. It scares him that he's being so spontaneous all of a sudden, but he can't help it. 

"I'll even buy you lunch," Josh tells him, patting him on the arm consolingly.  

They walk to the counter to pay, finding the kid from before struggling against laughter. He tells them they made everyone laugh so hard on the security camera footage that he says he's giving them a discount.

Tyler's mortified, but Josh is happy and teasing him about his blush, so he guesses it's okay. 

The gigantic burrito at Chipolte soothes Tyler's bruised ego just fine, but he's having a hard time eating while Josh makes him laugh. 

"God, I don't want to go back to like, real life tomorrow, you know?" Josh comments.

He takes a sip of Tyler's Dr. Pepper, which would ordinarily gross Tyler out, but he doesn't care. 

"Just think," Tyler says, licking sour cream off the corner of his lips, "Once you're moved in we can do this all the time." 

Tyler freezes when he looks up to see Josh staring intently at his mouth. He quickly pulls himself out of it though, studying his own burrito bowl. 

"I can't wait, honestly," Josh comments, scooping rice onto his fork. 

"You'll be singing a different tune when you encounter my laundry mountain, I'm sure." 

"I'll take my chances. Better than the frat boys I'm living with now." 

"You want me to help you move out on Wednesday?" Tyler asks, starting to clean up. 

"Nah. I've got four burly jocks to help," Josh says, tossing his napkin in the empty cardboard bowl. 

"You calling me weak?" Tyler says, smirking over his shoulder at Josh on the way to the trash cans. 

"Never. They owe me for keeping me awake with their keggers, so I'm making them do it." 

Tyler snorts, his lips twitching when Josh pulls at his sleeve on the way out the door, absently, like he didn't mean to. 

They challenge each other to a freestyle rap battle on the drive back, their chorus offset by some station playing 90s music, and Tyler wins by a landslide, making up for his golf defeat.

Tyler raps about his P.O.S. car, watches Josh watching him. His eyes turn back to the road less frequently than they should.

Josh is resting his arm on the window sill, his thumb stroking along his grin. His hair is frizzing out from the heater, the pink dye matching the color of his mouth. His lips look shiny-wet when they turn wider at Tyler's voice cracking. 

He's actually pretty good looking, Tyler realizes.

Objectively. 

Yeah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the color of Tyler's golf ball was intentional. I saw the opportunity, and I took it. 
> 
> The golf discount part actually happened to me and my partner, but it was laser tag for his birthday morning :) I get very competitive.


	4. Smoke and Oreos

Tyler lets out an involuntary yell as the smoke detector goes off above him.

He holds his ear with one hand as he climbs on the counter to desperately slap at the button. 

His attempt at making breakfast for Josh the morning of the move-in had gone up in flames, literally. Smoke fills the little kitchen as Tyler throws the windows open, coughing. 

A loud knock at the door sounds and of course, Josh would choose now of all times to be here. 

Tyler gives the blackened hunks of bacon up as a lost cause, striding to the door.

He opens it to find Josh standing there, his arms full of boxes, looking perfect in contrast to Tyler's messy hair and oversized T-shirt. His happy expression cuts off with a cough as smoke comes billowing out of the apartment. 

"Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry," Tyler pleads, holding the door open for him, "All the windows are open so it's clearing up."

Josh sets the boxes on the kitchen island, his mouth twitching as he looks at the wreckage still smoldering in the open oven. 

"Aw, honey, you cooked?" 

Tyler smiles sheepishly, "Kinda. Incinerated, actually. Sorry." 

Josh looks sweaty and his shirt is sticking to him, but he's beaming a wide smile at Tyler in spite of being surrounded by disaster. 

"It's okay, it's sweet," Josh says, leaning over the sink to open another window.

Tyler finds himself staring at the dimpled skin on his lower back as his shirt rides up. 

"What were you trying to make?" Josh asks, turning around and leaning against the counter. 

"Bacon and hash browns. I don't know why I tried. My mom calls me a curse." 

Josh laughs, pushing off the counter. 

"Well, thankfully for you, I can cook pretty well, so we won't starve." 

Josh fumbles with his box for a minute, before Tyler mentally shakes himself.

"Oh, right! Um, well, you probably wanna get settled," Tyler fiddles with his shirt, "I'll help." 

It takes them a few trips, but Josh doesn't seem to have much stuff with him. 

"Your room's on the left," Tyler tells him as they climb the stairs.

He carefully watches where he's going instead of how Josh's hips swing as he walks in front. 

Tyler nearly kills himself trying to haul the drum kit in, before Josh comes to his rescue, but the rest goes off without a hitch. 

"Careful with that one," Josh calls to him as they haul the last boxes in, "That's fragile."

"Antiques?" Tyler jokes, smiling at Josh's snort from the bedroom.

"No, my altar stuff. But most of it's glass and stuff." 

Tyler sets the box down on the couch carefully, hears the things inside rattle. 

"You have an altar?" Tyler asks as Josh comes back into the living room. 

"Yeah. It's where I do my rituals," Josh shrugs.

He runs a hand through his hair, slicking the roots down with sweat.

"Want me to help you unpack?" Tyler asks.

He stares at the blueish circles under Josh's eyes. They get lost when Josh grins at him. 

"You don't mind?"

"Nah. We've got to work together now, remember?" 

Josh bites his lip, reaching out to grasp at Tyler's fingers for a minute, gesturing to the bedroom. 

"We'll start with the hard stuff," Josh says.

Tyler tries to ignore the innuendo bubbling up on his tongue. His fingers feel warmer than the rest of him. 

They spend a while opening boxes, unpacking Josh's clothes and bed sheets.

Tyler is busy rooting around, trying to find the fitted sheet he knows goes to this set, and Josh is hanging pictures up. Tyler's glad he caved and bought an actual toolbox last year after his cabinet fell apart. 

Josh grunts around a mouthful of nails, his face crinkling as he sets the hammer down, reaching up to slide his shirt off. 

"Too hot," he mumbles, leaning back to see how straight his picture is.

Tyler watches a bead of sweat glide down Josh's spine, leaving his skin glossy, 

He realizes he's been standing there with Josh's folded sheet in his hand for an embarrassingly long time. He can't even remember finding it. He tears his eyes away from Josh's muscular back, busying himself with making the bed. 

He struggles with the elastic on the sheet, resisting the odd urge to watch Josh. He wonders if he's finally lost it after all these years. 

He's never been like this around other guys.

His friends, when they come around that is, get shirtless all the time and it never fazes him. They'll all lay around playing video games in their underwear, and it's never made Tyler feel anything. Not like the pins and needles he's feeling in his fingers now. 

He doesn't even feel like this around girls either. Other people, really. He mostly does his best to ignore humanity whenever possible.

Something about Josh has that reflex frazzled. He can't not look at him. It's unsettling. 

Tyler finishes the bed and closet right around the time Josh is finished setting up his drum kit. They beam at each other. 

"Finished!" Josh crows, high-fiving Tyler and looking around at the finished room.

Tyler's stomach decides to rumble loudly at that moment, making Josh laugh. 

"Oh man, that's right. I forgot you haven't eaten yet," Josh says, taking out his phone.

He dials a number, eyeing Tyler as he waits. 

"Mid-morning pizza sound good?" Josh mumbles to him. 

"You're amazing," Tyler says gratefully. 

Tyler wanders back to the living room, stretching his arms over his head. He glances at the burnt mess of his breakfast attempt, and drags himself over to clean it up. 

"Okay, pizza's on its way, double pepperoni," Josh calls, padding back to Tyler and stopping in the doorway.

"Man, just give up. It's dead," Josh comments, seeing Tyler struggling with the pan. 

"It's my only big pan," Tyler mourns.

"We'll go shopping later. Get some new stuff. I need to pick some things up anyway," Josh says.

He sits down on one of Tyler's rickety bar stools at the counter. 

"Yeah, okay," Tyler admits defeat, throwing the pan into the trash can.

"There's a Super Target about ten minutes from here."

"Cool. Shopping trip." 

"Pizza first," Tyler says, feeling his stomach rumble again. 

Pizza is relatively quick considering the early hour, and they settle around the breakfast nook, grabbing slices. 

"Dude," Josh says around a mouthful, "You chew, like, super loud."

"Don't you like it?" Tyler asks, smacking loudly and laughing at Josh's shiver of disgust. 

"I can live with it," Josh says, stealing a piece of pepperoni off Tyler's slice. 

"I'm sure I'll find pet peeves about you too."

"If my constant drumming doesn't make you kill me first."

"Nah," Tyler shakes his head, "I'll love hearing you play." 

Josh flushes pink around his ears, cleaning up both their plates. He clears his throat. 

"You ready?" 

"Yeah, let me grab my coat." 

A short drive and three aisles later, Tyler wonders when he became comfortable with domestic situations like this so quickly. He doesn't even like shopping with his mom, let alone a practical stranger like Josh, but he finds himself grinning at his stupid puns and watching him decide on window cleaner like it's nothing. 

"Okay, we got everything?" Josh asks, sneaking a package of Oreos into the cart.

Tyler pretends not to notice. 

"Yep. We're good to go." 

Josh sighs, rubbing his neck while they make their way to the self-checkouts. 

"Good. I'm beat," Josh says, "Let's go home."

Tyler fishes in his pocket for his wallet, resolutely ignoring how that word makes his chest feel.

Warm. 

He rings them up and ignores how Josh's exhausted smile does the same thing to him. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to everyone who supports this fic! It means the world to me :)
> 
> Let me know what you thought!


End file.
